Republic City's beginning
by Mrs.DylanLightwoodIvashkov
Summary: So this is a big OC fanfic (and AU kinda)... not much mention of cannon characters. If you don't like OC characters and such, DON'T BOTHER READING. I just don't want a lot of criticism cuz you don't like OCs in general, not just my fanfic. My friend and I were doing this together, but she doesn't have a fanfic account so I'm posting it! :) Hope you like it! INDEFINATE HIATUS!
1. Meeting the Visiter

**So this is a big OC story I'm working on with my friend. She doesn't have an account, so I'll be posting. It's mainly just OC characters with mentions of cannon characters along the way. I know a lot of people don't like OCs, so if you don't, just DON'T READ. If you don't mind, feel free. Oh, LOL... I don't actually expect that many people to read it (most people hate OCs), but I had this urge to put it up anyway... Ah well. I hope you enjoy it! **

Shala wiped her hands on her already dirty apron just as the door to the shop swing open, triggering a little bell. Shala had grown to hate that little bell. Even after her second week sh had gotten sick of the bell. Now, after having worked regular shifts for six month, she was ready to murder it. Shala brushed a stray hair out of her eyes with a little sigh.

The man that entered was built like a platypus-bear. Probably eats like one too, Shala thought dryly. "Hello," she said forcing a smile on her face. "What can I do for you?"

The man glanced up at her, as if he hadn't realized she was there before. "Oh, um, hi," he said. The man pointed to a big, delicious looking almond cookie in the case. "Can I have that?" he asked. "No, actually, can I have two of those?"

Shala sighed inwardly; she was right. But she had to keep the smile on her face. Nodding slightly, she opened the case and pulled out two of the almond cookies, before wrapping them up in a napkin and placing them both on a small plate barely large enough for the two massive treats to fit on. She placed the plate on the counter before saying in an obviously exhausted voice, "That'll be 8 copper pieces."

The man grinned widely, reaching into his back pocket to retrieve the money at the same time he lifted the plate up with just one hand. Once he had a handful of copper pieces and had properly counted them all (which took several minutes, seeing as how he didn't bother to put the cookies down while doing so), he placed the money on the table and went to eat at a booth in the far end of the bakery.

Shala watched him wolf down the food like there was no tomorrow. Other than him, the bakery was void of customers. It wasn't surprising because business was slowest at this time in the afternoon. Quickly getting bored, Shala went to turn on the radio behind her. It was the newest model, made of a dark wood and it had a long antennae sprouting out from the top of it. Shala fiddled with the knobs, finally finding a station. This song was horrible, Shala thought. There was some awful screeching or something, and the signal was coming in badly.

The man in the booth was thinking the same thing. "Hey," he called out to Shala. "Would you mind changing this please? It's really... bad."

Shala smiled. "Yes, of course," she replied. "I was just about to do that myself." Shala changed the station quickly, not wanting to hear another second of the tune.

The new station was playing one of her favorite songs, and she found herself humming along with it. The man glanced up as he heard the music begin to play. He grinned in spite of himself. Despite being a country boy, he was still on top of all the music that circulated throughout the world. This song was a definite favorite, and then he saw Shala humming along with the song. All too soon, the song ended. "I love that song," the man said. "How about you?"

Shala nodded. "Of course," she said.

The man couldn't help the smile on his face, "Cool," he murmured absent-mindedly under his breath. This was a brief beat of semi-awkward silence, before he called out to the woman by the radio, "My name's Gopan; what's yours?"

Shala paused for a moment. Her customers rarely ever did that. For a moment, she wasn't sure whether to pretend she hadn't heard him or to introduce herself or to tell him to be quiet. Finally, before even she knew what she was doing, she turned and smiled at him and said, "You can call me Shala."

"That's a nice name," Gopan beamed, as Shala walked over to stand by the booth he was sitting in (as you can imagine it was pretty difficult to carry out a conversation from all the way across the room), "How long have you lived here, then? In Republic City?"

Shala rested one hand on the back of the seat across from him, a thoughtful look on her face. "Oh, I've lived in Republic City since it was first built."

"Wow. Um, is it cool?" Gopan asked, trying to fill the silence. He pointed in the direction of the glass case. "And since we're talking here, I was wondering if I could have one of those fancy looking chocolate things."

Shala shrugged. "Yeah, sure. It'll be five copper pieces though."

Gopan laughed heartily as if she had just cracked an incredibly funny joke. But she hadn't. "That's okay," he said, handing over the money. Shala went and quickly got the 'fancy looking chocolate thing' from the case for Gopan. Once she returned, she sat down across from him and pushed the treat across the table to him. He smiled, thanked her, and split his uneaten cookie in half to give her a piece.

"Why are you giving this to me?" said Shala, taking the cookie regardless, "You paid me for the food."

Gopan just shrugged and took a bite of his half of the cookie, "Eh, I thought it'd be rude if I ate while you just sat there."

"Not as rude as talking with your mouth full," she mumbled, in a tone of voice much harsher than she intended. His eyes widened and his hand flew to cover his mouth, making a few apologetic grumbling sounds as he tried (and failed) to cover his embarrassment.

An uncharacteristic little giggle escaped from Shala. "Well, I can tell that you're new to Republic City. Where are you from, Gopan?"

Gopan pointed his finger vaguely and said, "Senlin Village." Shala stared at him blankly for a moment. "You know, giant panda thing? Avatar came at one point? It was kind of a long time ago."

"Uh, sure," Shala mumbled. She wasn't like those Avatar fangirls who knew every single thing about him. Her world was more restricted to the bakery and her close family. Mainly her brother.

In order to pass the time, Shala took a bite of her cookie, chewing slowly to savor it (with her mouth closed, of course).

"Yeah," Gopan continued energetically. "Senlin Village is a really small place, but I love it there. It seems even smaller now that I'm here in Republic City." Gopan paused for a quick breath, then rushed on. "Yingsu and I spent all of our time together. I remember when we were younger we used to slide down these giant mudhills and run around like crazy. Oh! And there's this little grove of trees that we used to go to, and it was so pretty watching the sunsets. Of course, the sunrises are much better by the cherry trees. I liked to climb up in the trees and watch from there because the view is so much nicer. But Yingsu can't climb trees. And I need to tell you about the mill! There was this mill that we would play in, and-"

Shala cut him off, sternly saying, "You're talking with food in your mouth."

Gopan frowned. "Oh, sorry. I didn't realize. But anyway," Gopan said as if he had never been interrupted. "Yingsu and I once went to the marketplace together, but since Yingsu is kind of clumsy, she knocked over a vendor's stand. It was full of apples and the apples went everywhere! Then Yingsu and I had to clean up, but Yingsu ended up eating most of them."

"Interesting girlfriend you have there, Gopan." Gopan looked up to see Shala smirking at him with a knowing glint in her eye.

Gopan looked confused. "What? Yingsu isn't my girlfriend. Why would you think that?"

"You talk about her like she is, so I kind of assumed." Shala rolled her eyes. "You talk about her so much too. You talk about Yingsu the same way my brother talks about his many girlfriends."

"You have a brother?" Gopan's eyes got wide.

Shala nodded. "Yes, I have a twin brother. But he's a lot... different than I am. However, we're getting off track. Who is Yingsu?"

"She's my armadillo-cow!" Gopan said, as if it should have been obvious, "I thought I made myself clear about that."

"Not quite," Shala muttered just soft enough so Gopan couldn't hear. Louder, she said, "Maybe I missed you saying it."

"Yeah, you must have," Gopan huffed, rolling his eyes slightly before shaking his head, "But armadillo-cows aren't allowed in apartments for some reason," he grumbled sarcastically, as though this was some sort of obscene, nonsensical law, "So she had to stay in Senlin. I really miss her... But that's not important! Tell me more about your brother!" His grin was instantly back in place.

Shala was a little shocked at how quickly Gopan's emotions appeared to change, but quickly got over her shock to reply, "Uh, he's always dating some new girl and he's always saying how 'she's the one' but they break up soon after, so... and the girls' father is almost always really mad at him for breaking their daughter's heart so he's constantly in trouble with random men who are always coincidentally important figureheads," she paused to take a bite from her cookie, not missing the barely contained chuckles Gopan was letting out, "Oh, and he's an earthbender." Shala added as an afterthought.

At that, Gopan sat straight up in his seat, "Your brother's an earthbender? I'm an earthbender!"

Shala frowned slightly, looking Gopan over, "Really? You look too... aloof to be an earthbender."

The grin was still plastered in place as Gopan said, "I have no idea what that word means."

Shala raised an eyebrow, but decided against commenting on this fact, instead continuing with, "Yeah, so Ratna- I mean my brother- is an earthbender, and I'm a firebender."

Now Gopan looked really impressed and excitedly cried, "That's amazing! Can you show me some firebending then?"

She blinked, before nodding and opening the palm of her hand. A moment later, a small, flickering ball of flame appeared in her palm. Gopan looked absolutely awestruck. "Wow, I've never seen actual firebending! That's pretty amazing. Not much you can do with earthbending sadly."

"Yes, you can," said Shala with a twinge of jealousy in her voice. "I've always wanted to be able to earthbend. You see, I've never really been taught that many firebending techniques and whatnot, so I can only make up different things. I can't really learn proper techniques."

Gopan refused to be swayed. "But you could learn how to control lightning," he said. "That would be so incredible."

This earned a laugh from Shala. "So? I can't learn how to control lightning without a teacher. But, you can learn how to be a metalbender." She looked at Gopan and smiled. "Then again, you need a teacher to learn how to metalbend, so I guess we're even." Shala poked Gopan's arm playfully. "My mother can metalbend," she said as an afterthought.

Gopan squealed like a little girl and put both hands on the table. "Are you kidding me?" he practically shouted. "I want to metalbend! Can she teach me? Please? Pretty please? Wait," Gopan said scoldingly, "Can your brother metalbend too? Cause it's really weird if he can and I can't and if we ever meet it's going to be really incredibly-"

The metal door to the bakery banged open. A very large and unnatural looking dent appeared in the door where the handle should have been. "I'm here!" came a loud voice.

**So... That's the first chapter. Do you guys like it? RNR please! I enjoy feedback. Oh, and in case it matters... I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender and all that. Hehe... I always forget to do that. But still. Please say you liked it! And even if you didn't, it least tell me why not.**


	2. Enter, Ratna

**'Ello! So I got a total of 17 views, mwahahaha! But no reviews :( Anyway, I'm actually pretty surprised that many people DID read it! I know how much people hate OC characters. Anyway... Here's the 2nd chapter. And FYI, the WHOLE story is with my friend, not just that first chapter. So yeah... I figured that even though no one decided to follow the story *cough cough* I might as well post this 2nd chapter. Enjoy! **

Shala groaned as Gopan's eyes began the size of dinner plates. A tall, lean man stood in the doorway. "Hey Shala!" he said. "I got off work early today, so I figured I'd come and see you earlier. When do you get off work?"

Shala stood up and walked over to stand next to him. "You should know," she scolded good naturedly. "You only come here every single day to come pick me up." She pointed to the damaged door, pathetically swinging on one hinge. "Look what you did! Now I'm going to have to pay for it. Again."

Gopan had gotten up to go see what the whole fuss was about. Although he was worried about door, he was honestly more awed about the fact that the man was a metalbender. "Who's he?" he asked Shala, his first thought guessing that he was her boyfriend.

"I'm Ratna," said the man. Ratna grinned cheekily. "What's up?" he said casually. He glanced behind him at the door. "I hope you're not too upset about the door."

If possible, Golan's eyes got even bigger. "Oh, you're Shala's brother," he said with understanding.

Ratna laughed loudly. "That I am," he agreed. "And are you Shala's boss? Because if you are, I'd really like to apologize about that, but my metalbending hasn't been top notch recently."

Gopan stared at him, not knowing what to say. Thankfully he didn't need to say anything because the back door opened and a rather heavy woman walked out. Her dark hair was twisted up into a bun and held by two green chopsticks. "No, he's not her boss. I am." She took her time walking over to the group. "You ought to know that by now, Mr. Rei. After all, this is the fifth time you've busted my door." Her voice was stern, but looking closely, Gopan didn't think she was really that upset. In a moment he found out why. "Shala," she said, turning to her, "I believe you will be paying this off again? I'll take it out of your salary of the next three weeks."

Shala scowled at her brother and nodded. "Very well, Banyi," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll pay off my brother's mistakes."

Banyi nodded, looking content. "Okay then. I'll be seeing you." With those clipped words, she spun around and left, her silky, long, purple dress billowing out behind her.

"I can't believe you did that again!" Shala cried at the same time as Gopan yelled, "That metalbending trick was great!"

Ratna's eyes widened, as he looked confusedly between the two, "Uh, first off, thank you mysterious stranger," he said, nodding smugly to Gopan, who just grinned stupidly, "And Shala, I already apologized for the door! What more can I do?"

"Uh, I don't know," Shala growled sarcastically, "Maybe help me pay it off for once?"

Ratna just laughed and rolled his eyes as though this was a rather ridiculous notion, before turning back to Gopan. "So... who are you exactly?"

For a moment, Gopan looked shocked, as though he didn't understand why the man was speaking to him, before smiling again, "I'm Gopan! From Senlin Village! Nice to meet you!" He then eagerly grabbed Ratna's hand from his side, vigorously shaking it all while rambling on about how incredible it was to meet a metalbender, and how tasty almond cookies were, and how much he missed Yingsu. Neither Shala nor Ratna could understand what he was saying too well.

"But none of that's important right now," Gopan cut himself off, letting go of Ratna's hand finally, "What is important is when Shala gets off work!" He turned expectantly towards her. She frowned and pulled a pocket watch out of her apron pocket.

"My shift's over," she announced blandly, and with no other words, she strode out of the store. Ratna shrugged, seemingly used to his sister's curtness, and followed her out, leaving Gopan to hurriedly run after, talking the whole way.

"So, what do you guys usually do after work?" Gopan asked, still full of energy. "I mean, I'm just wondering. It's not like I've really been doing much during the two weeks I've been here. My friend said he'd set me up with something, but I haven't heard from him yet."

Ratna glanced over at the villager. "Who's your friend, Gopan?" he asked as he motioned with his hands. When he took his next step forward his foot sank into the dirt path they were walking on. "Oops," he chuckled, pulling his now muddy foot out.

Gopan giggled boyishly, and replied, "His name is Ari. Ari Singa. I have to meet him, because he said he'd get me a job. You know, working in the big city."

"What job are you getting?" Shala asked.

"I'm going to be a construction worker," Gopan replied. Shala and Ratna glanced at each other. Ratna worked as a construction worker too. "I'm going to be working in the sediment removal tunnels." Shala and Ratna glanced at each other again, but this time their faces showed completely different emotions than before.

"I hope you enjoy your job," Ratna said uncomfortably.

Gopan looked at him innocently. "Well, why wouldn't I?" he asked. "I mean, I don't really know what it is, but it can't be that bad."

Shala snorted. "Sure," she said shortly. "You know, Gopan, I could think of some other really nice jobs here. I have a friend who works in the..." Shala paused, trying to remember. Anything other than what Gopan had as a job right now.

Before Shala could finish, Gopan said in an almost hurt tone, "Why shouldn't I do this job? I already have the apartment, and I've got the equipment and everything already."

"Are you sure, buddy?" Ratna asked. "I have a job as a construction worker too and-"

"Oh, great!" Gopan cried. "Maybe we'll see each other there!"

"Yeah, but Gopan," said Ratna in a slightly cautious tone, not sure how to explain the situation to oblivious earthbender, "The sediment removal tunnel isn't exactly the best place to work."

"And why not?" Gopan argued, "Ari said it would be perfect for a mudbender like myself, so-,"

"You mudbend?" Shala said in confusion, not particularly meaning to interrupt. Gopan didn't seem to mind however.

"Yeah!" He grinned eagerly, "Y'see, when you work on a farm like I did, mudbending is really handy! You can clear fields and redirect the water to keep it from drowning your plants and you can keep the dirt fresh! It's not as cool as metalbending, and it's of no use when in fights or, y'know... anywhere but on a farm..." his brows furrowed as he trailed off, but his mood instantly brightened, "But Ari told me he could get me a job here that was good for a mudbender! So it's all good!"

"Why did you bother moving to the city?" Ratna asked, genuinely curious, "If your bending is so well-suited for farm life."

Gopan pouted slightly, an uncharacteristically sad look on his face. "Well, Republic City's kind of a big deal, and all of the economy is focused around here now, and a village as small as Senlin doesn't really have a big business appeal. People stopped buying local food from my farm, instead buying stuff from the cities and such. I had to get a new job, because I have to help support my ma and Yingsu. It's a great opportunity." He looked sad for a moment longer, but then his signature grin appeared, notably more forced than before, "But it's okay! It's exciting!"

Ratna gave him a skeptical look but nodded. "If you say so," he said, slightly concerned. "Whatever you think is best, I suppose."

There was a rustle of movement from the bushes beside them, and Shala's hand immediately erupted in dancing flames, casting unnatural looking shadows across her face. "Who's there?" she demanded, her eyes narrowed. Gopan look startled, but for the most part unaffected. Ratna, however, still appeared to not have a care in the world.

"Give it up, sis," he said mildly. "No one's there! How many times am I going to have to tell you that?"

Shala glowered at him for a moment, her eyes flicking back to the bush. "Fine," she said after it was clear there was no one else there. The fire in her hand vanished, as if it had never been there.

As if to prove Ratna's point, a timid little squirrel-hare peeked out from behind the foliage. "See?" Ratna said pointedly. "Nothing. You're paranoid." Ratna made a soothing gesture at Shala, even though he knew why she was so on edge.

Not too long ago, about three weeks past, the pair of them had been walking back home on a night similar to this one. Just as they were going into their apartment and opening their door, a hooded man had run out from inside. He seemed to have been a firebender because he had shot a well aimed blast of fire at Ratna as he left. Ratna had gone inside the apartment to see what he had stolen, while Shala went after the thief. As he, Ratna, had started to look about at a slightly charred mess he had heard loud yelling. Running back outside, Ratna had found Shala facing off against two other hooded men, while the actual thief could just be seen vanishing around the corner that lead to the main street. One of the men had a black hood, the other had a dark red one that reminded Ratna of blood. Only one of the men, the one with black, seemed to be a bender, but the other had incredible martial arts skills. Shala and the black hood were exchanging fire blasts and the ground around them was as black as charcoal. The one with red kept sneaking up behind Shala and hitting her, so she messed up on her bending. This led to the black hood to gain advantage on her. Ratna had noted this and in seconds was fighting by his sister's side.

Despite their combined efforts, the red-hooded managed to slide behind Shala and strike the back of her neck and along her spine. This caused her to fall to the ground, and, momentarily distracted by his sister, Ratna ducked to the ground too to help her up. Her bending was gone, which caused Shala to panic. While the damage wasn't permanent, it was still a nerve wracking sensation, and before either could gather their wits about them, the thugs were gone. Ever since then, Shala had been on the alert in case she met up with the thieves again.

Gopan blinked, looking from Shala (who still looked a little tense, but had moved from her fighting stance) to Ratna (who seemed a bit annoyed but at the same time concerned and sympathetic). Being the oblivious person he was, Gopan somehow managed to shake off the tension. He instead turned to look at the squirrel-hare, crouched between two lower branches with its face just peeking out from under the leaves.

"Well, aren't you a precious little darlin'," he said, a soft smile on his face. The squirrel-hare's nose just twitched in reply, "I'm sorry, but I don't got any food on me right now," he bent down so he could peer at the little creature better, "Hmm... Hey, Ratna, Shala, you guys got food?" He said in the same cooing voice, sticking one expectant hand out without even looking up.

Shala, who was still feeling a little jumpy and just a tad irritable, grumbled and said, "No, Gopan, we don't have any food, we just left the bakery too. You should've taken some with you if you planned on feeding the wildlife."

Ratna laughed slightly, shooting a glance at Shala as though telling her to lighten up, before shoving one hand in his pocket. "...Nah, nothing here..." He withdrew his hand and shook it out, before checking the other pocket.

Ratna fished out a long piece of string, some suspicious looking brown sticky substance, and a bit of lint. "Nope, sorry," he said all too cheerfully. "I probably would have eaten any food I had, anyway."

Gopan looked disappointed, but shrugged as if it was no big deal. "Don't worry, I would have done the same," he said with a slight grin. Gopan turned back to the squirrel-hare and cocked his head. "Okay, hon," he said. "You can scoot now, we don't have any food. Maybe ask someone else." He made shooing motions with his hands and the creature scampered off.

"Well, that was a fabulous detour Gopan, but can we leave now?" Shala asked a bit sharply. "I'm sure the squirrel-hare really appreciated your efforts." Then, noticing Gopan's wilting expression she added in a softer tone, "Gopan, it's going to get dark fairly soon and we shouldn't be hanging out around here after the sun sets."

Sighing, Gopan nodded. "Okay, let's go!" he said bouncing to his feet. Shala sighed in relief and Ratna smirked at her, causing her to scowl at him. "Guys, are we going or not?" Gopan asked with a trace of impatience as he set off down the path. The twins both grinned at each other, then ran to catch up with him.

"Calm down. We're coming," they both said.

**So, yup. That's the 2nd chapter. I hope you liked! RNR please? Even if it's just one person out there, it'll be more than I got for the 1st chapter, haha. Oh well. Anyone else here think that Gopan is the most adorable guy ever, and that Shala and Ratna are a great pair of twins? But... Yeah. I hope you liked it!**


End file.
